


where the sunflowers grow

by primmfaktor



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, I mean several attempts were made, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Non-magical!Yamada, OT9 friendship, Pining, Texting, The Author Regrets Nothing, Witchboy!Yuto, Yamada is Confused, Yamada is in college, Yuto is Whipped, Yuto is a Dork, and so is the author, college is hard my friends, or should I say Idiots to Lovers, side takainoodai, side yabuhika, tagging is the devil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 10:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19788598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/primmfaktor/pseuds/primmfaktor
Summary: When you've lived your entire life next to someone like Nakajima Yuto, you realize there's a lot of questions that don't need to be answered.





	where the sunflowers grow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [incandescence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/incandescence/gifts).



> Dear recipient: welcome to the world of "this is my first fanfic please don't murder me please," I'll be your guide. I never thought I'd be writing a magic au and I really really hope I didn't fuck up but I made it with a lot of love and patience and some internal screaming. I hope you like it or at least makes you smile a little (:
> 
> p.s. english is not my mother language and this is not beta-ed, so I'm sorry if your eyes bleed while reading this, hehe
> 
> p.s.2  
> ✿= present  
> ❀= past
> 
> okay!
> 
> *hides*

✿

By the time Yamada Ryosuke finishes writing the tenth page of his assignment, his teeth are chattering from the coldness of the night and it’s already late. Super late. Like “if I don’t go to bed now, I’m totally falling asleep in my-eight fifteen class” late. He is sitting on the couch of the living room, surrounded by cushions and papers. One of his headphones is pulled off his ear, his glasses are hanging at the edge of his nose and has a fluffy baby blue blanket wrapped around his body so tightly he kind of feels it like a straitjacket. 

It’s early April and so far the nights had been ridiculously hot—Yamada had always had to kick his blankets off him in the middle of the night feeling too warm and sweating—but of course, _of course_ , the night he has to stay up late to finish this goddamn assignment the temperature decides to slut drop and say ‘why dying from stress when you can also die from hypothermia.’ 

The bright screen of the laptop and a couple of moonlight rays reflected through the window are the only sources of light in the main room (“You eyeballs are going to burn before you even reach your thirties,” his mom said one time she found him in the darkness of his room playing video games on the floor, looking more like a living burrito than a human. Now Ryosuke, with a myopia plus astigmatism diagnosis, kind of wishes he listened to her before), so with a loud internal groan and a last minute impulse of saving his eyes from roasting, he stands up to turns the lights on and _—_ yeah, oh god, he is _blind_.

Maybe he needs a cup of coffee. Or five. Maybe Yuto could cast a “get shit done” spell to Yamada when he gets back from closing the shop. 

As if on cue, the jingle sound of the keys interrupts the silence of the apartment, the door opening at that precise moment. He doesn’t look up when Yuto enters and closes the door, waiting for the usual “I’m home, my dear Harry Brotter,” or “What’s good, mi amigo,” or even a “Hey there, short stuff,” if Yuto was feeling brave enough to receive a cushion on his face. By this time, the only greeting Yamada receives is silence. 

He barely has time to rise his eyes to catch a glimpse of Yuto practically flying to the kitchen, not meeting his eyes, only a shy little wave before disappearing behind the door. 

Yamada blinks once. Twice. 

Confused, he slowly turns his gaze to the screen in front of him. 

Okay.

Here’s the thing about Yuto. They’ve been best friends since always and even way before that, but you really don’t have to know Yuto that long to realize how bright his personality is. He is bubbly, charming, a social butterfly, his magnetic aura makes everyone impossible to not love him, always full of so much energy, bursting into Yamada’s room at six am like a kid on Christmas just because it’s snowing or smiling widely to rude customers who seek Yuto’s magical abilities for illegal or immoral purposes. A ball of sunshine in a form of a human being. The kind of person you would never associate with sadness or anger. 

Now, here’s the other thing about Yuto. When something is bothering him, it’s like he locks it inside a box and tries to hide it from everyone to deal with it alone, the absolutely idiot. Good thing Ryosuke does know him that long to recognize the signs when it happens.

Because there’s also the fact that Yuto is a very powerful witch. When it happens, it’s like watching a huge balloon with lots of tiny holes, the air filtering from it inevitably. Just as Yuto wears his heart on his sleeve, he does it with his magic, reflecting every good or bad feeling on his surroundings—the night before opening his magic shop for the first time Yuto made a light bulbs explode because he was too nervous, or when it gets too cold if something is bothering him, or how the plants of their little indoor greenhouse always turns towards Yuto if he’s radiating excitement, mistaking his power for sunlight, or the one time it rained in Yamada’s room for solid five minutes when they were in high school?—he loves to let his magic run freely instead of having to repressing it, but it kind of backfires if he really wants to hide his bad mood.

So Yamada waits. And he doesn’t mind at all, never had. When you have lived your whole life next to someone like Nakajima Yuto, there are a lot of things that don’t need to be rushed, don’t need to be answered. Yuto has his own peace compared to the rest of the world, so he waits. For something to break. For the weather to suddenly change. For a sign. 

However, to Yamada’s surprise, Yuto emerges from the kitchen minutes later and suddenly he’s in front of the older, holding in one hand a mug that says “ _come to the dark side, we have cookies_ ,” and another one in the other hand with Leonardo DiCaprio’s face on it.

“You are a savior,” with one hand Yamada sends his assignment and with the other he distractedly reaches for his mug, sipping it without even looking. He chokes immediately “Ugh—what the hell is this?”

“What do you mea—oh,” he looks into the DiCaprio’s mug ”Hum. I served my coffee in your mug. Haha. Sorry, my bad” Yuto scratches the back of his neck with an embarrassed smile and hands him his own mug. 

Yamada takes it “S’fine, thanks,” he mutters. It smells like tea and lavender and honey and the mere scent makes Yamada realise his shoulders are very tense, so he relaxes them. Immediately, he wraps both hands around the mug, the warm of the hot drink spreading through his body, his fingers holding it tightly because he’s pretty sure his they were in some of the stages of being completely frozen.

For a moment, Ryosuke believes Yuto would turn around and head straight to his room but surprisingly, he plops down next to him on the couch.

“I swear to god,” Yuto says, crossing his long legs on the couch “I love working with magical creatures and I have enough experience in handling them, but if I have to make another Dragon’s Breath potion again my hands might fell off.” He massages his wrists with a pained expression “It’s so hard and thick to stir up.”

“Is the ‘No Eyebrow’ hag again?’”

“Madame Adeline,” Yuto corrects and sighs “Four bottles! She wants _four_ freaking bottles for tomorrow afternoon!” 

“What?!” Yamada exclaims wide-eyed because what the fuck.

“I _know._ ”

“But—last time she came to the shop she already had like, what, three dragons? 

“Two young Gold Wyverns,” corrects Yuto and then says with sarcasm “And now four brand new Obsidian Dragon eggs she got from Wicked. At this rate her already non-existent eyebrows will never grow again.” 

Ryosuke narrows his eyes, suspiciously “Isn’t illegal to buy magical creatures online if you are over a hundred years old? 

Yuto laughs and Yamada feels warm inside, even though it’s still so cold “Oh, you know how west witches are,” he shrugs “I wouldn’t be surprised if she used black magic to trick the system. I don’t even wanna know, if I’m honest.” 

Ryosuke takes a sip from his mug. “When do you leave?”

“After breakfast, maybe? They are just eggs so injecting the potion shouldn’t take long, unless one of the Wyverns decide to have me for breakfast—oh wait.” Yuto remembers “I think I’ll go before dawn.” Yamada raises a questioning eyebrow so he explains. “Yabu and Hikaru asked me for some dry mandrake leaves and I ran out of them, so I’ll get some before they come tomorrow.” 

“Man, Yabu is devastated,” Yamada comments amused “Japan got disqualified from the Asian Cup, you know? Hikaru said he spent all day watching Captain Tsubasa again after that.”

“Oh god.” Yuto drinks his coffee with a frown “Maybe I prefer the dragons.” They chuckle. 

“Yeah.” Ryosuke laughs softly “Good luck with it.”

Looking at the closed laptop, Yuto asks “How’s the assignment going?”

“At this point you’d think my professor has a crush on Shakespeare because this is the third paper I have to do about him. I could recite Macbeth’s monologues in my sleep.” 

“To be or not to be.”

“Oh my god, that’s not even Macbeth, you goddamn brute.” 

Ryosuke watches how Yuto rests his head in the back of the couch and lets out a heavy sigh. A comfortable silence settles between them but the air still feels like breathing ice. Yamada reminds himself that he has to _wait_.

“You look like shit,” Yamada apparently has no filter. 

“So charming.” Yuto says “I always look great, excuse you.”

“Says who? Your mom?” Yamada teases “You were, like, five years old Yuto, it’s time to move on.” 

“So mean, Yamada! You know what?” he points a finger to him, looking one hundred percent offended “Yesterday a girl bought a love potion and asked if she could use it in me.”

“Wow.”

“And—and, all those witches that come from the east always flirt with me and bring me gifts just because of how handsome they think I am!”

“Impressive.”

“Some of them even left their phone numbers.”

“A real Brad Pitt right here.”

“But you don’t like Brad Pitt.”

“Exactly.”

Years have passed and Yuto had always had the same expression when Yamada teases him, an irritated frown on his face and like he’s about to pout. It surprises him how much little it takes to annoy Yuto but it even takes him more off guard how much Yamada loves to annoy him to see that face, so at this point, he really can’t help his grin when Yuto whines, so Yamada says “Come one. Why would you even care about what I think? Who was the one that received love letters almost every single day in high school? And everyone has a crush on you as soon as they open the shop’s door, so it’s not like my opinion matters anyways.” Yamada laughing it off. 

But after a moment, Yuto says quietly but firm, “It does.”

“Huh?”

“Your opinion,” Yuto clarifies “It matters. To me.” Almost a whisper.

“Oh,” Yamada blinks. ”Ok,” Okay? “Well, you know I think you are handsome. I was just, you know, teasing you before.”

“Handsome,” Yuto repeats slowly, like it means something. “Handsome how?”

The room starts to feel colder. 

“Wha—”

“Like, what do you really mean with that?” 

Ryosuke feels lost “Um. That you… are handsome? Good looking? A real life Adonis?” Yamada laughs but it comes a bit awkward.

“Are those words you would associate with me?” 

What the hell happening here. “I mean—yeah? I think so?” Yuto’s eyes are hard. 

“What do you think of me?”

“Excuse me?”

“What exactly,” Yuto asks “comes to your mind when you think of me?”

Yuto asks and says every word like it means everything and he does it so dead serious it takes Yamada completely off guard. He’s staring him so intensely and Ryosuke feels helpless, like everything he’s been answering is wrong even though he has zero idea of what is going on because just a second ago they were joking and laughing but now—now Yuto is looking at him like this is a test, like this is a play and nobody ever considered to hand Yamada a script. 

Ryosuke clears his throat “Um—magic.”

“Magic.” Yuto slowly repeats. His frown doesn’t disappear whatsoever, it freaking deepens, and Yamada can now see his breath, feeling like the damn iceberg that sank the Titanic and he has no time for this. Whatever this is. 

“Yes,” now is time to Yamada to stare at him. “Magic. Witch. Best friend? I really don’t know what you want me to say, Yuto. I was _kidding_.”

“So, magic and best friend.”

“Yyyyeah? Because, I don’t know, you are literally a witch and my best friend?”

“Okay.” Yuto nods. “Wonderful.” 

“Um,” Ryosuke blinks. Waiting be damned. “Is something wrong…?”

“Nope,” Yuto stands up so quickly it startles Yamada “I’m good. Peachy. Never felt better.” 

“Yuto—”

The younger yawns and it sounds so fake because Yamada knows Yuto has the energy of a thousand suns but he says nothing when his friend stretches his arms like he’s really tired “Man, I’m beat. It's better that I get some good rest. God knows I’ll need it tomorrow. Nite nite, Yamada!” 

Without even blinking, Yamada follows Yuto’s figure as he disappears through the hallway and closes the door of his room. 

It’s when he blinks again, still remaining there on the couch wrapped around the fluffy blanket, hands around the mug that is now absolutely cold when he swears he sees a tiny snowflake pass in front of his eyes. 

❀

At the age of six years old, Yamada Ryosuke is Yuto’s best friend. 

But that’s also how it was last year. And the year before that. And when they first started to walk, and when they were in diapers and couldn’t even pronounce a coherent word or even imagine what the meaning of friendship was. And even way long before that. 

Long story short: Yuto’s mother was the only daughter of the principal of the Tsukuba Academy of Witchcraft and she always had to wander through the halls of the academy after finishing school, waiting to her mom to finish work in the late afternoons. There’s where she met Ryosuke’s mother, who also did the same because she was the daughter of the head chef of the academy’s canteen, and after confessing that both of them were born without a single drop magic in their veins, they immediately became best friends. Since that day, they never fell out of touch, not even when the got in college or when the got married or had children. 

Yuto and Ryosuke don’t live close to each other but they went to kindergarten together and now to same elementary school. After classes, Ryosuke’s mom always drives them to her house where they both hang out and do homework together til it gets dark and Yuto’s mom comes to pick him up—Yuto would beg for playing with Ryosuke a little bit longer if it wasn’t already so easy for Yamada’s mother to convince her to stay for a warm cup of tea. 

Growing up comes easy for Yuto, it comes in the form of his favorite things, like getting his own room instead of having to share one with his baby brother for another year, the new light blue curtains with pirate ships on it and star stickers on the ceiling, in the cherry blossoms near the school’s entrance, in the seat next to the window but also next to Ryosuke, in drumming on the desk with his pencils instead of actually colouring his homework, or in the swing of the playground, pumping higher and higher with his scratched knees feeling like he was already at the top of the world, the smell of baked cookies from the kitchen when it’s raining, the fact that his birthday has always a crystal clear blue sky, in the summer nights when cicadas come to light up Yuto’s back garden. 

People also start to associate him with words such as “talented” and “gifted,” because Yuto is literally good at everything and almost never has to try a second time to achieve something. Which is great by the way, because Yuto also likes to try do it all, the world too big and amazing for his small hands to explore. But the best thing is that he gets to do it next to Ryosuke, his tiny hand always finding his in the middle. At the age of six, his favorite thing in the world remains the same: hanging out with Ryosuke all the time. 

There’s actually very few things Yuto hates when he’s six, though. Studying English is definitely somewhere in the top three, especially when he misspells the word “dessert” for “desert” in a test and gets his first B. Also, being sick and by extension having to take the horrible medicine his mother makes with weird but “very effective” herbs she borrows from grandma’s garden. Or worst: not being able to see Yamada at all for a week straight. However, this—

This is making him sick. 

“Oh my god,” Ms. Yamada gasps with concern when she arrives at school, standing in the entrance “What happened?”

Ryosuke is crying. He’s holding a pot filled with soil and Miss Tanaka is by Yamada’s side, kindly caressing his back in a failed attempt to comfort him. Yuto is a step behind, also holding a pot but his has beautiful lavender flowers buds, his usual bright smile gone and replaced by a grim face. 

“It’s because of his flower, auntie!” Yuto rushes to answer, before the teacher can begin to explain “It didn’t grow!”

“It was a science project,” the teacher says “We planted flower seeds in pots for each one in order to learn how to take care of a new form of life and see it’s growing process. We waited for three months but for some unknown reason, Ryosuke's flower hasn't yet.” That seems to bring a new wave of sobs from Ryosuke and Yuto holds his hand tighter.

“M-mommy,” Yamada’s voice is strangled between sobs, his breathing agitated, face soaked in tears and cheeks as red as the tulips of the kid passing next to them. “I-I ki-killed it!”

Ms. Yamada gives him a warm hug “Oh, honey. I highly doubt it, I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Yuto nods effusively because he feels like he needs to says something “Yes! “Ryosuke was the only one who watered his pot every morning! I was the one who always forgot and Yamada had to remind me to do it!”

“That’s right, Yuto,” the teacher smiles “Ryosuke took very good care of his plant, so it’s not your fault, okay sweetheart?” she caressed Yamada’s hair “You know? Maybe your flower is a special one.”

That seems to pick up Ryosuke’s curiosity and he stops crying for a moment.

“Special?” he asks in a soft voice.

“Yes! There are some flowers that don’t usually grow the same way as the other. They need special care and have special needs. Perhaps, your flower just needs a little bit more time to grow! Some take longer to do, so they need a special someone to look after them.” Ryosuke is looking at her with his glassy eyes but now there’s a brightness in them “You just have to be patient and keep taking care of it. Time is not the same for everything, Ryosuke. Even for plants. Life is a beautiful thing and sometimes beautiful things take more time to grow.”

The drive to Ryosuke’s home is silent except when Ms. Yamada tries to cheer them up promising she’ll bake Yamada’s favorite strawberry cookies and make Yuto’s favorite chocolate milk for supper. That seems to bring a small smile to Ryosuke’s face, but he still looks very sad. Many years being Ryosuke’s best friend should be enough to make him immune to this, but honestly, this is the first time he sees this inconsolable and it breaks Yuto’s heart before even knowing what a heartbreak is, a heaviness inside his chest that doesn’t seem to go away.

When they arrive, is just the three of them. Ryosuke’s father is still at work and his sisters are at school “Why don’t you guys go to change and wash up? Lunch will be ready I’m just a minute,” she looks at Ryosuke’s pot “I think it’s best if you put it on your room, on desk. That way it’ll get all the morning sunlight, what do you think, darling?” she suggests. 

Yamada sadly nods and both go upstairs. Usually the older would go straight to look for toys to share with Yuto or show him some new stickers his dad got him, but today there’s just silence. Ryosuke puts the flower pot where her mom told him and opens the curtains, the light immediately coming through the front window. Then he sits in the chair, elbows in the desk, both hands propping up his face (cheeks, 6-year-old Ryosuke is 90% rounded cheeks) and a full pout on his lips. 

“You think it’ll grow?” Yamada asks with a sulky face. 

Yuto excitedly exclaims “Yes! And it’ll be even more tall—”

“ _Taller._ ”

“— _taller_ than the other flowers! Even taller than mine! And with more flowers! with more petals! And a a _thousand hundred_ of leaves!”

“I’m pretty sure it won’t have that many,” Ryosuke looks slightly amused by Yuto’s excitement 

“We only have to wait, right? We can stay here waiting all day if you want!” Yuto proposes. _Just please don’t be sad._

Sighing with resignation, Yamada says “Nah, it’s ‘kay.” 

Years later, Yuto would remember how much he wanted to say something, do something, a burning and determined desire to wash away any bad feeling the older may had. It was only a mere innocent disappointment but Yuto wanted to fight his sadness in that right moment. Years later, he still wants to. Years later Yuto would recall about how he did it just as a joke to make him smile, not even remotely aware that the next words he’d say would change his life forever. 

“Bet that I can make it grow faster if I say the magic words!” Yuto exclaims “Grandma always makes things work with her magic words!”

Yamada looks at him with curiosity “What magic words?”

Yuto focused eyes on the pot, a small frown on his face and tongue sticking out in concentration, Yuto raised his hands and stretched them towards the soil, hand palms open.

“Abraaaaacadabra!”

Years later he would remember the first time it happened. How it felt. How it started as a warmness in his chest, not quite burning but enough to make him open his eyes with surprise, how it spread through his arms until it reached his hands, to the tip of his fingers, a tingly sensation, almost tickling in his pads. How he saw the air around his hands started to feel heavy, his heart beating like crazy, visible energy literally coming out of him in a faint whitish glow directed to the life that was growing inside the pot. Yuto is sure it only lasted a few seconds, three seconds tops, but he remembers everything in slow motion, as if in that moment the world had stopped only to contemplate the birth of a miracle.

Because just as it starts it ends, Ryosuke’s sharp inhale makes him realize he’s still staring intently at his shaking hands, so he looks up. And with startled eyes he observes that right front of his eyes, a tiny green sprout with a single leaf has grown, right in the center, right where a few seconds ago, there was absolutely nothing.

He did that. He just did that.

He _knows_ he just did that.

“Yu-Yu- _Yuto_!” Ryosuke eyes can’t be bigger even if he tried, his jaw practically on the floor “Wha—How—you—?” Yuto blinks a few times.

Yuto's mirrors Yamada's expression. “I—“

“How did you do that?!” Yamada finally finds a coherent question to ask but Yuto certainly can’t find a coherent answer to that because, _what?_

“What,” at this point he was sure some part of his brain had melted “I—don’t know!” He looked at his hands again. He feels as lost as when they play Xbox and he randomly presses all the controller buttons together and discover a new superpower.

“What do you mean you don’t?!”

“I just _don’t_ , okay?!”

“So you mean you just did _that_?! 

“Yes?! No?! I have no clue, Ryosuke!”

“It’s not fair! I want to do it too!” 

“Then do it!”

“Are you crazy? What if I die?!”

“I didn’t _die_ , you are too dramatic!”

Before he can phantom something else to say, Ryosuke is running out of his room, calling for his mom to tell her what just happened, Yuto’s eyes staring at the open door and then looking back to his hands like he’s seeing them for the very first time.

At the age of six, Yuto discovers two things in the same day:

Number one: Seeing Yamada Ryosuke sad is definitely at the top of his three things he hates the most and will probably do anything possible and impossible to make him happy again.

Number two: He’s a witch.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! next update will be massive omg I thought the whole thing would be max 5K but I already have more than 10K? like?? what are short fics idk them.
> 
> Thank you! (:


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